About us

Introduction

Wycombe Women’s Aid is a charity and company limited by guarantee. Our vision is of a world where women and children live their lives free from domestic and sexual violence. We work from a feminist perspective and are committed to the principles of self-help and mutual support. Our services are based on 6 principles:

To believe women and children’s experiences of abuse

To prioritise women and children’s safety

To support empowerment and self help

To care for the emotional, educational and developmental needs of children affected by abuse

To challenge discrimination and promote equal opportunities

To provide women for women services

Our Core Values reflect our history and were compiled by our clients, employees and trustees:

WOMEN’S POWER – we believe in self-determination and women’s power to take back control of their lives.

LISTENING AND BELIEVING – we listen to women and children and believe they are the experts in their own lives.

EQUALITY – we value equality of opportunity within our diverse community. We believe domestic violence is a contravention of our human rights.

CHOICE – we place women and children at the heart of everything we do and respect their choices.

RESPONSIVENESS – we are responsive to the views of women and children to develop our provision of confidential and informed services

Fact

One domestic violence incident is reported to the Police every minute

As our service exists to support women and children who have experienced violence and abuse, our service in itself is a contribution towards equality in our society. Our service is for women and children, by women, therefore we do not employ men. Wycombe Women’s Aid is exempt under the Equality Act 2010 pursuant to Schedule 9, Part 1.

Wycombe Women’s Aid is affiliated to WAFE (Women’s Aid Federation England) – the key national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children. WAFE supports a network of over 500 domestic and sexual violence services across the UK.

Workers and Trustees

The Management Committee has overall responsibility for the organisation. The Trustees are made up of women (only) volunteers who meet on a monthly basis. We currently have 8 full Trustees and a further 5 co-opted Trustees.

Wycombe Women’s Aid has 4 safe houses, all of which were named after women who were instrumental in setting up Wycombe Women’s Aid in the early 1980s.

The staff team currently comprises:

CEO

Operations Manager

Services Manager

2 Support Workers

2 Child Development Workers

Youth Worker

Counsellor / Clinical Supervisor

6 IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advocate) / Outreach Workers

Wycombe Women’s Aid also buys in the services of a Clinical Supervisor, a Housekeeper, a Gardener, a male IDVA and a Finance Worker.

Equal Opportunities

Wycombe Women’s Aid is a gender-specific service, supporting all women survivors of domestic violence.Wycombe Women’s Aid is committed to promoting equality and diversity within the services we deliver to survivors of domestic violence. This includes making our refuge, outreach and IDVA services inclusive. We recognise that lesbian, bisexual and trans* women may also be subject to violence and abuse from their current or former partner and all of our support services are accessible to, and available for, lesbian, bisexual and trans* women.

Wycombe Women’s Aid is also committed to challenging homophobia, biphobia and transphobia within our service provision.

Safeguarding

Wycombe Women’s Aid is committed to protecting all women and children who use its services from abuse and the welfare of a child or young person will always be paramount. WWA will not tolerate any kind of abusive behaviour regardless of the age, status or position of the perpetrator and the age, status or position of the person experiencing the abuse. WWA operates clear processes for child protection at all times and the responsibility for safeguarding lies with the CEO and Services Manager. Child Protection is a multi-agency responsibility and all agencies should work in cooperation to protect children from harm. To this end, WWA seeks to maintain good working relationships with Social Care and the Police as they have lead responsibility for dealing with child protection issues.

If you are concerned about a child in Buckinghamshire, it is important that you talk to someone about this. The Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board website can guide you on what action you can take:

Complaints and Comments

All complaints and comments about WWA’s services will be taken seriously. If you would like to make a complaint or comment please contact the Services Manager of Wycombe Women’s Aid on 01494 461367 or use the contact us form to send us a message and request the relevant forms and information. If you would like a copy of our full complaints policy, please contact us on either of the methods outlined above.